Why Do People in Moscow and Saint Petersburg Prefer Facebook over VK?

It’s true, people who live in the large cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg prefer to use Facebook rather than the local VKontakte social media platform. This is extremely surprising as Facebook ranks only 4th as the most used social media in Russia. So, who are the people using Facebook in Russia?

Source: GFluence

English proficiency rates are higher in Moscow and Saint Petersburg in comparison to the rest of Russia. Local social media platforms like VKontakte (VK), OK.ru and MoiMir.ru have millions of users, but they are located in Russia and former Soviet republics in Little and Middle Asia. On the other hand, Facebook connects people from around the globe. One of the main motivations for Russians to use Facebook is to connect with people from abroad and that’s why knowing English is important.

The knowledge of a foreign language in Russia is closely connected with the person’s education and social status. Russian Facebook users in comparison to VK users have better education and work in more skilled jobs. These are also people belonging to the younger actively working half of Russia’s population and students. Members of Russia’s intellectual sphere much rather prefer Facebook and they often use it to stir up political debate. Many times, the government has threaten to block the website due to the reasons of threatening public order and security as people use it to organize public rallies and protests.

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Featured image source: Gamedev.ru

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